This work presents an objective, repeatable, automatic, and fast methodology for assessing the representativeness of geophysical variables sampled by Earth-observing satellites. The primary goal is to identify and mitigate potential sampling biases attributed to orbit selection during pre-Phase A mission studies. This methodology supports current incubation activities for a future Planetary Boundary Layer observing system by incorporating a sampling effectiveness measure into a broader architectural study. The study evaluates the effectiveness of 20 satellite configurations for observing convective storm activity in the Southwestern U.S. during the North American Monsoon (NAM) season. The primary design variables are the number of satellites, orbit type (sun-synchronous or inclined), and Local Time of Ascending Node (LTAN). Using Kullback-Leibler (KL) divergence to assess observational representativeness and Kernel Density Estimation (KDE) to estimate probability density functions, the study quantifies the discrepancy between observed and ground truth storm features. Results indicate that a two-satellite sun-synchronous system with an 8:00 PM LTAN, achieved the lowest KL divergence, signifying the most representative observation of storm clusters. In contrast, single-satellite configurations, particularly those with late-night LTANs (e.g., 12:00 AM), demonstrated significantly higher KL divergence. The study concludes that dual-satellite configurations in sun-synchronous orbits with evening LTANs outperform single-satellite and inclined configurations in capturing representative convective storm activity. Keywords: Earth-Observing Satellites; Sampling Effectiveness; Kullback-Leibler Divergence; Observational Representativeness; Monsoon

翻译：本研究提出了一种客观、可重复、自动化且快速的评估方法，用于衡量对地观测卫星所采样的地球物理变量的代表性。其主要目标是在任务预研阶段（A阶段前）识别并缓解由轨道选择引起的潜在采样偏差。该方法通过将采样效能度量纳入更广泛的体系架构研究，支持未来行星边界层观测系统的当前孵化工作。本研究评估了20种卫星配置在北美季风季节期间对美国西南部对流风暴活动进行观测的效能。主要设计变量包括卫星数量、轨道类型（太阳同步轨道或倾斜轨道）以及升交点地方时。研究采用Kullback-Leibler散度评估观测代表性，并利用核密度估计法估算概率密度函数，从而量化观测数据与地面实况风暴特征之间的差异。结果表明，采用升交点地方时为20:00的双星太阳同步轨道系统获得了最低的KL散度，意味着其对风暴集群的观测最具代表性。相比之下，单星配置（尤其是具有深夜升交点地方时的配置，例如00:00）表现出显著更高的KL散度。研究得出结论：在捕获具有代表性的对流风暴活动方面，采用傍晚升交点地方时的太阳同步轨道双星配置优于单星配置和倾斜轨道配置。关键词：对地观测卫星；采样效能；Kullback-Leibler散度；观测代表性；季风